Delhi High Court upholds termination of former Legislative Assembly Secretary, says absence of separate secretarial cadre created hindrance in appointments to House Secretariat

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has upheld the termination of Siddharth Rao, former Secretary of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on the grounds that the appointment of the petitioner was not being carried out by the appropriate Appointing Authority.

The High Court observed that the petitioner was appointed on as Officer on Special Duty (OSD), a non-existent post. After completion of the probation period as OSD, he was immediately absorbed into the post of Joint Secretary and within a year, was given the charge of Secretary with all upgradations in pay scales.

No approval was taken from the competent authority for such deputation as OSD, absorption to Joint Secretary and promotion to Secretary, which made it illegal, added the High Court.

The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh further noticed that the Legislative Assembly of Delhi has no separate secretarial cadre, which made it becomes difficult for the Speaker or any authority to make appointments to the House Secretariat.

As per Justice Singh, Article 187 of Constitution of India applies to the States for having separate secretarial staff but that cannot be made applicable to Delhi, which is a Union Territory.

The court in its order said that the Article 187 has no applicability to the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

It further said that the posts can be created in Delhi Legislative Assembly with the due approval of Lt. Governor, Delhi, who is the Competent Authority by virtue of delegation of powers in this regard under Article 309 of the Constitution.

The Court also found that Delhi does not have its own State Public Services, as the matters connected with services are relatable to Entry 41 of List-II of the Constitution and thus, which fall outside the purview of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

The court also reminded that the services in Delhi are under the control of the Union government, which are covered only by Entry 70 of List I.

The NCT Legislative Assembly of Delhi has no competence to legislate in respect of any subjects which come under Entries 1, 2 and 18 of State List and Entry 70 of the Union List.

The court also said that as per the Section 41 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, the Lt. Governor is required to act in his discretion in respect of these matters and not on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Justice Singh suggested that till the time a provision is made by the legislature, the Lieutenant Governor, with the help of Speaker should make rules regarding the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff.

The Court said that despite of the Article 187 to the DLA, the Speaker cannot be given with powers to make appointments to its Secretariat.

The court also said that in view of Section 41 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, it is the discretionary power of the Lt. Governor to act in respect of these matters and not on advice of the Council of Ministers.

These observations were made by the court while dismissing a plea moved by Siddharth Rao, who was a former secretary of Delhi Legislative Assembly.

The former Secretary had challenged two orders terminating him from service and holding all his appointments as illegal and relieving him from the post of secretary.

While the plea was rejected , the court took note of the fact that Rao’s deputation was made on a non-existent post of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Speaker which post the probation period,was absorbed on the post of Joint Secretary with all upgradation in pay scales.

The court observed that since no approval was taken from competent authority for deputation as OSD, absorption to Joint Secretary and promotion to Secretary, the appointment was vitiated by fraud and is void ab initio.
The Court said that without the approval from the competent authorities the entire saga of the series of appointments, absorption and promotion of the petitioner is tainted with irregularities and illegalities, de-hors the rules or due process of law is vitiated.

The court also said that it has proof that Rao did not turn up to
reply to the Show cause notice issued

The Court therefore said that the petitioner‟s termination cannot be termed as illegal.

(Case title: Siddharth Rao vs Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors)

The post Delhi High Court upholds termination of former Legislative Assembly Secretary, says absence of separate secretarial cadre created hindrance in appointments to House Secretariat appeared first on India Legal.



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